Erica J. Betts and Peter J. McGoldrick
In spite of the ubiquity of seasonal and other retail “sales”, they have been curiously neglected within the marketing literature. This is most surprising, given their impact on…
Abstract
In spite of the ubiquity of seasonal and other retail “sales”, they have been curiously neglected within the marketing literature. This is most surprising, given their impact on profit‐margins, brand/store images, supplier‐retailer relationships and consumer behaviour. Since 1980, the effects of comparison price advertising on consumer behaviour have received growing attention from researchers, although much of this literature has been at the individual product level and confined to groceries. Builds on this research in the specific context of store wide “sales”, where the impact of reductions extends far beyond the sum of individual price changes. Based on focus groups and preliminary surveys of “sale” shoppers, develops and tests a typology of motivations. Presents a taxonomy of responses to “sales”, illustrating alternative behavioural responses. Concludes with a model of the “attitude problem” brought about by recession, overcapacity, overuse of the strategy and growing scepticism on the part of consumers.
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Peter J. McGoldrick, Erica J. Betts and Kathy A. Keeling
In spite of their importance within pricing strategies, “seasonal sales” have received little attention within the literature. The recent interest in “high‐low” pricing has…
Abstract
In spite of their importance within pricing strategies, “seasonal sales” have received little attention within the literature. The recent interest in “high‐low” pricing has, however, increased the attention given to temporal shifts in store‐wide, rather than item level, prices. Following a brief review, this paper draws upon two case studies of leading retailers of apparel in the UK. Evidence is also presented from audits of pricing and markdown activities over a three‐year period, illustrating some contrasts between stated strategies and actual pricing activities. A cost‐benefit analysis of high‐low pricing requires knowledge of consumer preferences and attitudes. Results are drawn from a study of over 2,600 “sale” shoppers, indicating stated preferences for markdown frequency, depth and coverage. In general “sale” shoppers appear to prefer a variety of markdown levels, increasing their scope to succeed as bargain hunters.
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Dharshani Thennakoon, Wasana Bandara, Erica French and Paul Mathiesen
There is wide acknowledgment that training people from all levels of an organization in process management activities and “process thinking” is a major contributor to the success…
Abstract
Purpose
There is wide acknowledgment that training people from all levels of an organization in process management activities and “process thinking” is a major contributor to the success or failure, and sustainability of business process management (BPM). BPM training is provided in almost all BPM initiatives and involves the investment of valuable financial, human, information and other resources. However, little research has focused on this area. As a result, there is a lack of guidance for organizations in conducting value adding BPM training. The purpose of this paper is to consolidate the current published knowledge on BPM training in the form of a descriptive literature review to paint a picture of the existing work, identify gaps and propose a program of work for the future.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured descriptive literature review was conducted to understand the current status of literature on training in the domain of BPM. Of an initial search of 90 publications, 64 publications, published between 1994 and 2015, were filtered and reviewed based on their relevance to answer the research question: What has BPM literature mentioned of training people for BPM? This study proposes a research agenda based on this. A grounded theory coding approach was employed, where NVivo 10 was used as a tool to support the analysis.
Findings
A total of 234 codes (representing emerging themes) were inductively identified from the data. These codes were further analyzed, resulting in eight core themes pertaining to training in the BPM context.
Research limitations/implications
The paper presents a vivid descriptive overview of the current status of research in BPM training identifying gaps in the literature and presents a research agenda which supports a call for action.
Originality/value
The paper is the first known of its kind to compile the status of literature focused on BPM training and recommend a research agenda based on such.
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Muhammad Ayat, Malikah, Azmat Ullah and Changwook Kang
This study examines scholarly communications in the International Journal of Managing Projects in Business (IJMPB) and identifies the journal's leading trends from 2008 to 2019.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines scholarly communications in the International Journal of Managing Projects in Business (IJMPB) and identifies the journal's leading trends from 2008 to 2019.
Design/methodology/approach
This study analyzed a sample of 522 articles published in the IJMPB since its inception in 2008 until 2019. A set of bibliometric measures was used in the study to identify publication trends, citation structures, leading authors, institutions and countries. Additionally, analysis of research methodologies, industrial sectors and research themes of the articles was carried out through a rigorous content analysis. To examine the changes in journal expansion over time, the duration of publications (from 2008 to 2019) was divided into three subperiods.
Findings
The study findings show that 793 authors from 370 institutions and 58 countries contributed to the journal during this period. In terms of contributions, Australia and the Scandinavian countries are at the top, while Asian and African countries occupy a lower position. Moreover, among authors, Derek H.T. Walker was found to be the most prolific, with the highest weighting score and number of articles. Similarly, RMIT University of Australia emerged as the most productive institution. The articles were predominantly case studies followed by mixed methods (i.e. both surveys and interviews are used for data collection). Most of the articles in the sample were related to project management in general. However, several articles reported on construction, information technology (IT) and manufacturing projects.
Practical implications
This study is useful for the researcher community to understand the journal's scientific productivity. Further, it will also help identify dominant topics in the field of project management.
Originality/value
This is the first comprehensive review article presenting a general overview of the journal's leading trends and researchers since its inception in 2008.
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Erica du Toit, Ben Marx and Rozanne Smith
The International Integrated Reporting Council introduced the concept of integrated thinking skills to the accounting world overall. This study uses a constructivist approach to…
Abstract
The International Integrated Reporting Council introduced the concept of integrated thinking skills to the accounting world overall. This study uses a constructivist approach to address the development of integrated thinking skills for future professional accountants during higher education. This issue is relevant as many professional accounting bodies expect that integrated thinking skills are developed during the higher education of prospective professional accountants. Despite this expectation, there is limited guidance available to academics in the accounting education field to do so. By means of a literature review as well as an empirical study, this chapter develops a constructivist model that can be used by academics to develop integrated thinking skills during the higher education of prospective professional accountants. The model addresses the foundation, appropriate pedagogies, disciplinarity type, and point of introduction of integrated thinking principles in accounting education.
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Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).